Leading haematology researcher joins ARMI
Professor Nadia Rosenthal, Director Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), today announced the commencement of Professor Graham Lieschke and his research team.
“Graham Lieschke is the first clinician/researcher to join ARMI”, said Professor Rosenthal.
“He will enhance ARMI’s capacity to translate research findings into treatments for a host of degenerative illnesses”, she said.
Professor Lieschke is a leading clinical and research haematologist. He is internationally recognised for his research into blood disorders and cancer using zebrafish and mice. He is also a clinical haematologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he treats people with leukaemia and lymphoma.
At ARMI, Prof Lieschke’s team will focus on the physiology and biology of white blood cells. White blood cells are important for determining the balance between scarring and healing. Through their studies, the team seeks to understand mechanisms leading to cancer, inflammation and blood diseases.
“We were one of the first groups in the world to take advantage of the genetic flexibility and imaging capacity of zebrafish for white blood cell research”, Dr Lieschke said.
“ARMI’s facilities and regenerative medicine focus provide an ideal platform for my team”, he said.
ARMI houses the largest zebrafish aquarium in the Southern hemisphere (comprising more than 6,000 tanks).
The Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute is one of the world's largest regenerative medicine and stem cell research hubs. It is a multidisciplinary, collaborative-driven team of international experts dedicated to finding the causes and potential treatments for a host of debilitating and fatal diseases.
ARMI is based at Monash University. It is a joint venture between Monash University and the State Government of Victoria.
Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute: http://www.armi.org.au
Contact: Rachel Taylor 0411 288 672
Background
About Prof Graham Lieschke
Prof Lieschke is a leading expert in haematology (blood diseases). He is internationally recognised for his studies in haematology in zebrafish and using animal models for investigating blood disorders.
His research aims to increase understanding of fundamental biological process in order to develop and improve treatments for a range of blood diseases and cancers.
Before joining ARMI, Prof Lieschke was a Laboratory Head in the Division of Cancer and Haematology at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne.
About ARMI (www.armi.org.au)
The Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute is a state-of-the-art research facility established with support from Monash University and the Government of Victoria. Located on Monash’s Clayton campus, the Institute builds on the University’s existing strengths in biomedical research.
The Institute is one of the world's largest regenerative medicine and stem cell research hubs. Research focuses on understanding basic mechanisms underlying regeneration. Ultimately, this research aims to prevent, halt and reverse damage to vital organs due to disease, injury or genetic conditions. This will lead to treatments for conditions such as neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, arthritis, musculo-skeletal and cardiovascular diseases.
Prof Graham Lieschke—selected publications
PAPERS
- Hogan BM, Layton JE, Pyati UJ, Nutt SL, Hayman JW, Varma S, Heath JK, Kimelman D, LIESCHKE GJ. Specification of the primitive myeloid precursor pool requires signaling through Alk8 in zebrafish. Current Biology, 16(5):506-511, 2006.
- Horsfield J, Anagnostou S, Hu J, Yu Cho K, Geisler R, LIESCHKE G, Crosier K, Crosier P. Cohesin-dependent regulation of runx genes. Development 137(14):2639-2649, 2007.
- Dworkin S, Heath JK, deJong-Curtain TA, Hogan BM, LIESCHKE GJ, Malaterre J, Ramsay RG, Mantamadiotis T. CREB activity modulates neural cell proliferation, midbrain-hindbrain organization and patterning in zebrafish. Developmental Biology 307(1)127-141, 2007.
- Ellett F, Kile BT, LIESCHKE GJ. The role of the ETS factor erg in zebrafish vasculogenesis. Mechanisms of Development 126(3-4):220-229 2009.
- De Jong-Curtain TA, Parslow AC, Trotter AJ, Hall NE, Verkade H, Tabone T, Christie EL, Crowhurst MO, Layton JE, Shepherd IT, Nixon SJ, Parton RG, Zon LI, Stainier DYR, LIESCHKE GJ, Heath JK. Abnormal Nuclear Pore Formation Triggers Apoptosis in the Intestinal Epithelium of elys-Deficient Zebrafish. Gastroenterology 136(3):902-911, 2009.
- Pase L, Layton JE, Kloosterman WP, Carradice D, Waterhouse PM, LIESCHKE GJ. miR-451 regulates zebrafish erythroid maturation in vivo via its target gata2. Blood 113(8):1794-1804, 2009.
- Berger J, Berger S, Hall TE, LIESCHKE GJ, Currie PD. Dystrophin-deficient zebrafish feature aspects of Duchenne muscular dystrophy pathology. Neuromuscular Disorders. 2010 Sep 15. [Epub ahead of print]
- Ellett F, Pase L, Hayman JW, Andrianopoulos A, LIESCHKE GJ. mpeg1 promoter transgenes direct macrophage-lineage expression in zebrafish. Blood in press.
REVIEWS
- LIESCHKE GJ, Currie PD. Animal models of human disease – zebrafish swim into view. Nature Reviews – Genetics 8(5):353-67, 2007.
- Carradice D, LIESCHKE GJ. Zebrafish hematology – sushi or science? Blood 111(7):3331-42, 2008.
- LIESCHKE GJ, Trede NS. Fish immunology. Current Biology 19(16):R678-82, 2009.
- Ellett F, LIESCHKE GJ. The use of zebrafish models in hematology research. Current Opinions in Pharmacology, 10(5):563-70, 2010.
BOOK
- LIESCHKE GJ, Oates AC, Kawakami K (eds). Zebrafish: Methods and Protocols. Humana Press, Totowa NJ USA, 2009.
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